Calypso
by Ghost of Fish
Summary: Tai leads a crew of mercenaries aboard the airship Calypso. Chapter 3, the crew has been hired to aid a towns militia, easier said then done. And how does Tai and Matt's past play a role.
1. Big Entrance

Matt and Tai were standing in the middle of nowhere with a large bag at their feet. It was a huge quarry in a dusty desolate hilly area with no sign of civilization anywhere. They were both walking in circles studying the surrounding area. It was sort of windy but there was barely a cloud in the sky. Tai took out his cell phone, pressed 1 and reached it up to the side of his head. "They're late, we don't see anyone. Are you picking anything up on your side?"

Three miles away ducked in the shade of a large red hill was Izzy operating electronics with Joe standing not to far from him. Izzy looked at the different screens in front of him. "The radar is not picking anything here either. We'll inform you if anything changes." Izzy said then closed his cell phone and turned to Joe.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Joe said to Izzy. Joe was feeling quite nervous and took a large drink from their cantina. Joe then tossed it over to Izzy who grabbed it and took a large gulp himself.

Back to where Tai and Matt were standing, Tai closed his cell phone. He then turned to look at Matt who was lighting up a cigarette. "You think their coming or was this thing just a big ruse?" Tai asked his companion.

Matt sucked in his cigarette before taking it out of his mouth and blowing out smoke. He then turned and looked at Tai. "I don't know what these kidnappers are thinking. They obviously are not just some amateurs. Whatever they're thinking, it's definitely not good." There was a brief silence among the two guys.

A ringing sound came from Tai's pocket. He quickly took out his cell phone, opened it and brought it to the side of his face. "What is it Izzy?"

"We've got incoming, about a dozen or so. Whatever they are, they definitely are not human and their coming fast from all directions. Brace yourselves," Izzy informed them. After closing the phone Izzy looked closely. "We got some of those heading in this direction too!" Behind him Joe popped a clip into his Ak-47.

"And here I was thinking I wasn't going to have to fight for my life today."

Matt and Tai both looked at each other. Tai reached under his black trench coat on both sides of his lower back. From there he pulled out an automatic pistol in each hand. Matt reached behind his shoulder under his black trench coat and pulled out a shotgun. He proceeded to cock the shotgun with one hand as he looked over at Tai who was popping clips into each of his pistols.

"Let's kick some ass." Matt said as he turned from looking at Tai. The two started to look in opposite directions with their guns pointed out in front of them.

It would not take long before what was approaching to come in sight. They were floating robotic droids with spinning blades both horizontal and vertical. Right when they came into sight Tai opened fire. He was able to destroy one, and then another before having to reload. Matt on the other hand just stood and waited for them to approach. Standing there they spun closer and closer. With about ten feet to spare Matt unloaded his shot gun destroying the one right in front of him. Then he got another from the right, but had to jump down into a roll to dodge a third from the left.

After reloading his gun before Tai could shoot anything he had to jump out of the way of one coming straight at him. Then he had to roll on the ground to dodge another. Tai finally was able to get some shots in on one right in front of him destroying it. Matt got up but without time to reload started to run away from one coming at him. After getting chased for a couple of seconds another droid dropped down and headed straight to him from the direction he was running. With little else to do Matt continued to run straight for the droid in front of him with the other one behind him. With only a few feet separating him from the droid ahead of him Matt jumped straight up in the air. The two droids collided right in between the legs of the airborne Matt.

Tai tossed one pistol at a droid as he continued to dodge the blades. He took out his cell phone with his newly free hand and pressed 2. "Davis! Get us the fuck out of here!" Tai yelled into the phone.

Davis tossed away the newspaper he was reading. "Right!" he replied. He then reached out his hands and grabbed the controls to the ship. T.K. rushed over and jumped into the seat next to Davis. Davis pulled forward on the controls and the airship began to accelerate off of its resting place on a hill.

Shooting his pistol he was able to destroy a droid that was straight in his sights. "Izzy! How are you and Joe holding up?"

"Great, just great, nothing says a job well done than fighting razor droids!" Izzy said as he ducked from a droid. Izzy was busy closing down and packing up all of the equipment that they had. A couple of feet away Joe was busy unloading his rifle at the droids that were attacking them.

Getting some new shells into his shotgun Matt quickly chocked his gun and shot a droid to one side before rolling onto the ground backwards and shooting another droid heading his way from behind. With that being the last of the droids that was going after Matt he started to run over to where Tai was as he was reloading his shotgun. Tai had only two more left. They both zoomed straight to him from opposite sides. He jumped into the air diagonally and was just able to dodge both. After hitting the ground he turned his arm over and shot the one on his left. Then he turned to his arm to the right when the droid exploded right in his sights. Matt chocked his gun and walked over to Tai and extended his arm. To which Tai grabbed and Matt pulled him up. "That was mine," Tai told Matt.

The wind started to blow much harder as the two looked behind themselves to see the airship come over the hill and come to an abrupt stop. Matt and Tai ran to the ship but not before Matt grabs the bag of money and Tai grabs the pistol he had thrown away before, a hatch opened on the side of it and the two ran up it. Once inside the airship took off quickly and sped off. Matt and Tai ran over to the bridge. They got there in no time "Hurry, they can't have gotten far!" Tai commanded to Davis who took a second to look at the two young men before turning back to the window in front of them. The ship flew at an incredible speed over one hill to another.

"There!" Matt called out pointing to an old army truck with a tarp covering the back driving off in the distance.

Tai followed Matt's arm to where the truck was driving down the wasteland. "Davis take us down right on top of that. T.K. lower the hatch,"

"Roger that," T.K. said. Matt and Tai then turned from the window and headed back to the hatch they had come in from. One the way they reloaded their weapons and made sure everything was in check. The hatch lowered and the two walked down slowly onto it looking out to see the truck the ship was quickly approaching. It did not take long before the ship was right on top of the truck and has slowed down to match the truck's speed. Tai looked at Matt, Matt nodded, Tai nodded back. The two then jumped off the hatch.

They ripped right through the top of the tarp and hit the ground. In the bed of the truck was about five kidnappers and the kidnapped girl. Immediately Matt sent the back of his shotgun into the jaw of one of the masked kidnappers. Then turned to face the opposite direction and fired his shotgun right into the chest of another. That kidnapper was sent flying back through the tarp and off the truck. Tai reached out both arms with pistols in each hand and shot two kidnappers. The truck started to swerve now and slow down. This made Tai lose his balance and nearly fall. This allowed time for the last kidnapper standing to grab the girl and put a gun to her head. He faced Tai, "Don't you fucking move or I'll blow this little bitch's brains out."

Tai put up his hands "Okay I won't move," he told him with a bit of a smirk. The kidnapper was sent to the ground with a thud from a hit to the back of the head from the back of Matt's shotgun. Matt then grabbed the kidnapped girl and went to the back of the truck with Tai. Matt looked out to see that the truck had slowed to a minimal speed. He held the girl tightly and jumped off the truck into a roll. Tai was about to do the same before turning around to see about three of the bodies still twitching. "Well, it's been fun, here's a little going away present from all of us." He then reached behind his belt and pulled out a grenade. Tai smiled, unpinned the grenade, tossed it to the other side of the truck, then jumped out the back into a roll.

Once Tai had stopped rolling he got up to a kneel and looked over at Matt who was sitting on the ground holding the girl. Then the sound of a large explosion made Tai turn around to see the truck consumed in flames. Tai got up from the ground, looked at the dust all over his all back getup and started to brush it off. A burst of wind blew by him as the airship came to a stop right next to them.

"Took you guys long enough," Izzy said as the ship came to a stop next to him. Izzy and Joe were sitting on the packed up equipment surrounded by pieces from about five razor droids. T.K. and Davis came out of the hatch and helped them bring the stuff aboard. Once Izzy and Joe were aboard they made their way to the bridge. Joe took his proper spot in the chair that Davis had been occupying. Matt was sitting next to him with his arms crossed and his head down in the chair T.K. had been sitting in. Tai walked right behind the two of them.

"Alright Joe, take us back." Tai commanded. Joe nodded and the ship started to move again. Tai took out his cell phone and pressed 3, then put it up against the side of his face. "Sora, tell the family, their girl is safe and coming home."


	2. Iron Port

"After that fat of a pay check, we should rescue crime lord's children more often," Tai was going on about as Matt and him left the heavily protected mansion. "Banking on that their kidnappers are not world class terrorists who have access to some of the most high-tech killing machines on the planet."

The two walked down the driveway of the mansion. Matt had already started to light a cigarette. "Yeah but where would be the fun if they weren't." After a couple of minutes of walking they reached the end of the driveway. Parked just off the property was the airship which took up half the road. They walked up the ramp and headed for the main room.

The airship was a medium sized vessel. It had two levels to it, the first being the hanger which the entrance to it was. This was where all the supplies and equipment were stored. At the front of the hanger was the engine room. Then on the second level it was one big room which acted as the rec room, mess hall, situation room, which basically means there was a table in the middle and a counter on one side and a viewing screen on the other. At the front of the room was the window which was where the piloting controls were. At the back was a hallway where the sleeping quarters were located. There were four sleeping quarters each large enough to hold two beds.

Matt and Tai made their way up to the main floor. Joe was resting in the pilot's chair. Izzy was repairing some damaged equipment on the counter. Davis and T.K. were sitting at the table watching some television on the viewing screen. They all turned and looked at the two new arrivals. "Mister Lambino is a man of his word and paid us in full. Even gave us a little bonus for bringing the ransom money back as well. So Joe set a course to Iron Port, we'll rest up a bit before taking on another job." Tai told everyone.

Joe turned back and faced the front. "Right, let's go," with that he turned on the engine and started the ship's accent. Matt walked over and sat down on the seat next to Joe. Tai turned and headed for the sleeping quarters.

"Hey, Tai?" Davis called out to him. Tai slowly turned and looked at Davis. "When can me and T.K. do something more during a job than just watch the ship? I mean we've been part of the team for a couple of months now and flying this thing has been the most amount of action we've seen."

This made Tai just roll his eyes. "You see, the four of us have been doing this shit for years. And the first rule of being a mercenary is getting the job done and getting paid. Now the best way to get the job done and get paid is by sending the most skilled and experienced people to do the hard dirty work, not a bunch of rookies. Besides you guys staying behind and piloting the ship has allowed Joe to come out on the field where his skills are much needed. Now where is Sora?" Tai asked.

After a second Izzy looked up from what he was working on. "You didn't see her? She's down below sorting out the armory making a list of what we need." Izzy explained to Tai. Tai headed for the ladder down to the hanger. Once he was down there he looked around the large room. It was pretty empty with the exception of two dirt bikes and some large crates to one side. Where the crates were, was where Sora was with one of them open.

Tai quickly moved over to that side of the room. Once he got over there Sora was still looking down in the crate. So Tai jumped up and sat on another crate right next to that one. "So how goes sorting out the big guns?" Tai asked her.

"Great, loads of fun," she said looking in the same direction than she was before. In the crate was four Ak-47s with clips lying around next to them and on top of them. She finally stood up from leaning over the crates and picked up her clipboard and walked over to Tai. "We're in serious need of shotgun shells, pistol ammo, and a dozen more grenades. I think you might have to replace one of your pistols, one got messed up pretty bad, and it still works but not for long. What did you do to it?" Sora went on as she leaned against the crate that Tai was sitting on.

Tai just shrugged at the question "Threw it at a razor droid."

This made Sora just look at him for a second. The sort of look that made Tai feel really dumb. "And you wonder why our profit margin is always so low." If there was one thing Sora could do, that was make Tai feel dumb.

Tai grabbed Sora by the waist and pulled her close to him. "Enough about me, how was dealing with the mean old crime lord. Did he treat my little princess like the princess she is?" he asked her still holding onto her waist drawing her near.

"Could you not refer to me by those cuddly nicknames? It makes my case even harder to the others that I deserve to be part of the crew and am not just banging the leader." She said to him. She then broke away from the hold that Tai had on her and she started to head to the exit of the hanger.

It did not take long for Tai to jump off the crate and follow after her. "Oh come on, you are a great negotiator with these low life people and since you've joined the amount we've been getting paid for the same jobs has really increased. Plus Matt thinks you're a vital member of the team, and he's really the only one that matters right?" Tai went on following behind her by a meter trying to plead his case.

Back up on the main level T.K. and Davis were still sitting down at the table watching the screen. "I still think it would be a wiser decision to send us as well. I mean we got all the skill you need," Davis was going on about.

"I don't you know what your complaining about. Sitting around and barely doing anything and getting paid is sounds pretty sweet to me," T.K. imputed.

Davis rolled his eyes, "You don't understand, we're supposed to be mercenaries, the hired guns who get paid to fight other people's battles. Not sit around and wait for the call for a pick-up. That is not why I agreed to this."

"T.K.'s right," Matt said all the way in his seat at the front of the ship. "You guys have it pretty good here. And I agree you do have the skill which is why we agreed to have you guys become apart of the crew. But what you don't have is experience which when it comes to being a mercenary is just as important. Davis do you know what to do if your target has just escaped but left a bomb on the sixth floor which is the one you're on and has left you with no way of getting down."

Davis just sat there for a second not saying anything. "No," he finally muttered.

"Well I do, and that's why I'm the one who is put in those situations along with Tai, the more you watch from us the more your experience will increase. Then when you have proven yourselves you'll get your chance. Until that time, shut up."

There was a brief silence as Davis tried to think of something to say back. But he could not so he decided to sit back down and shut up. "We're here," Joe said to Matt.

Matt nodded and reached for a head set that was sitting on some of the controls to the ship. He put it on his head and pressed a button. "This is Calypso requesting permission to land."

It took a second before anyone relied. "This is Iron Port Docking Bay Company. You have permission to land Matt. Go to your regular stop section B-7," Matt nodded at Joe, Joe then drove the ship down towards Iron Port. Iron Port was a small city build in the rocks on a cliff right off the coast. It is mostly built in the rocks of the cliff. Much of it was built in caves and the rest had a large rusty iron upper roof over it. The ship came down and landed on a huge tarmac that was filled with all kinds of airships like the one they flew.

Tai and Sora had now immerged from below. Tai walked over the front of the ship. He looked out to see that it was raining very hard and the wind was really blowing. This was the most common weather in Iron Port which is one of the reasons why it was build in closed. Tai looked at the rest of the crew "alright, Matt and Me will go and meet up with Mimi and see what jobs are available. Davis, T.K., take the list of supplies from Sora and retrieve them. The rest of you can do whatever you want, just remember though that depending on how busy Mimi has been we could be leaving as early as tomorrow,"

Everyone broke off into their own little groups and headed off the ship. From there they rushed quickly to get inside for it was quite unpleasant weather.

Iron Port does not have any affiliation with any state or nation. It is a completely independent city with no law enforcement or government. It is just a little ways off from anarchy. Different companies and crime organizations are the ones who maintain order each controlling a different part of the city. The docking platform for example, is controlled and run by the Iron Port Docking Bay Company. This is a hotbed place for smugglers, shady businessmen, mobsters, pirates, thieves and is the world capital for mercenaries and private armies.

It did not take long for Matt and Tai to reach their destination. Down the tall hallway with storefronts all around them they stopped at a door. There were no windows beside the door like all the others. It was just a door with a sign on top that read Calypso. Tai took out a key and put it in the lock. He unlocked it and opened the door.

Inside was one large room. On one side were lockers with a bunch of weapons and equipment all neatly pilled up. At the far back of the room were beds all lined up with little space in between. Finally at the other side was a desk and looked more like an office, which was where Mimi was hard at work. It took her a second to look up and see her new guests. "Took you guys long enough, how was playing damsel in distress."

Even though they lived on Calypso, Matt and Tai own this little joint as sort of a home base. It's in the eastern sector of the city right near the water. This part of town was controlled by an old man named Gennai who made his living selling secrets and information. Though not technically a crime boss, he has a loyal group of mercenaries who work under him. After helping Gennai out a number of times he granted this place for Matt and Tai as a way of repaying them.

"Terrible," Matt said as he and Tai were at the lockers taking off their trench coats what were now completely soaked. "They really need to start up a war or rebellion soon because doing these odd jobs for mobsters is really getting tiring."

Tai finished with putting his coat away and walked over and sat at a chair in front of Mimi's desk. "Well at least these guys knew what they were doing. Better than when we had to protect that one guy whose assassin stood up and screamed 'I'm going to kill you!' before he had even drawn his gun, easiest paycheck ever,"

Taking a seat next to Tai, Matt took out a pack of cigarettes, took one out and lit it. He then placed the pack on the desk and sat back in his chair. "So, Mimi is there contracts that are up for grabs?" he asked.

"There is a couple, here let me check," she said as she turned to her computer. At the same time she grabbed Matt's pack of cigarettes and took one for herself. "Alright, someone from the eastern province needs protection from the mob, some guy from the north needs someone to train is soldiers, oh right, check this one out. Some self proclaimed mayor of a settlement not to far from here needs some experienced merqs. Apparently this guy has a little militia about two dozen or so soldiers. A group of rogue ex-black-ops have been squatting in some old abandoned facility. There has been some clashing between the two sides. He wants someone or more to lead his little militia to the facility and take the black-ops out. Oh wow, he's willing to pay a lot for this. What do you guys think?"

Matt and Tai looked at each other. Tai turned back to Mimi, "Well if he's willing to pay the big bucks, then we'll take the contract. When does he want us?"

Mimi leaned in on the computer screen. "As soon as possible. I'll make the call telling them you'll take it. You should probably leave in a day or so."

"Sounds good," Tai said as he stood up from his seat. "Tell the others we'll be leaving tomorrow at noon. Now if you'll excuse me I got a date with real food that's not from a can." Tai went and opened his locker. He grabbed a different trench coat that looked exactly the same as his wet one. Then he turned and headed out of the room.

Still sitting there Matt finished his cigarette before getting up. He put it out in the ashtray that was on Mimi's desk. "Me and Joe are going to hit the bar tonight, do you want to come?"

"Love'd too," Mimi said still looking at her screen. "But…if Tai wants you guys to leave by noon tomorrow I got quite a bit of work to make sure everything is set, sorry Matt maybe next time."

Mimi started to type away on her computer not even looking up at Matt for a second. Matt sighed as he walked over to the lockers. He opened his and peered in. Inside were three identical black trench coasts. It was Tai's idea of making them look cooler. There were two selves at the top. One had a bunch of random stuff, notebooks, cigarette packs, random papers, and a couple of magazines. This was basically everything when it came to possessions that he actually owned, with the exception of the guitar under his bed a couple of feet away. The highest shelf had a hat on it but under it was a 9mm. Which was nothing compared to the revolver that Mimi had on her leg under her dress.

Finally grabbing his coat Matt shut the locker door. He then headed to the exit. Right at the door Matt turned and looked at Mimi who was still hard at work. Matt then went out the door and exited the room.

With a thump the last new plastic crate was dropped down on the hanger floor right next to the other plastic crates. "Finally we're done," Davis said to T.K. who was standing at the opposite side the crate. "Let's go and see if the others want to go get a beer."

"Joe already went with Matt a long time ago," T.K. informed him.

The two started to walk over towards the ladder that leads to the upper level. "What? They're out drinking and didn't bother to ask us if any of us wanted to come. Talk about team players."

They reached the ladder and started to climb up. "Oh Matt asked everyone, except you, he just doesn't like you." Once they reached the main floor T.K. was able to turn around and see the mean stare that Davis was giving him at that moment. "Hey don't kill the messenger," T.K. said.

"Hey, rookies!" Izzy called out to them. Davis and T.K. both turned to see Izzy fixing something on the counter. "Just relaying the message from Tai. We got a new contract, it's a very high paying one, and we head out tomorrow right at noon. So that means stay on the ship tonight, that's an order from Tai."

Davis looked at him with shock and disbelief. "What the hell? Why do we have to stay aboard? Sora isn't on the ship, neither is Joe. Or Matt, he's just off wasting his pay on booze and cigarettes."

Izzy put down what he was reading and looked at Davis. "Matt and Joe are big boys; they can take care of themselves. The last time we let you go off the night before we disembarked we had to leave you behind because you were face down in your own puke outside one of the bars and never showed. And when it comes to Sora, the only reason she is even apart of this crew is because she is screwing Tai. Now if you want the special privileges that come with fucking Tai, go right ahead."

Giving up Davis just stopped bothering trying. A noise caught Davis's attention as he turned around and looked back at the ladder. A young woman then came up it, followed by an obviously drunk Matt, then two other young women, finally a drunk Joe came last. Matt put his arms around two females and started to walk to the hallway of sleeping quarters followed by Joe with his arm around one.

Half way to the quarters Matt stopped and turned around and faced the other three. Joe went passed him and continued to the quarters. "Hey, Izzy, I got someone who'd love to meet you," Matt said as he took his arm off one of the females. He then continued on his path and entered his sleeping quarters.

Izzy quickly got up and rushed right over to the female. "Hello, what is your name?" he asked her.

"Monica," she said back to him.

"Monica? That's such a beautiful name." Izzy told her as he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face the hallway. "My name is Izzy, I'm the chief mechanic and electronics expert on this vessel." He informed.

The two started to walk into the hallway. "Really? That's so cool," she told him.

Izzy nodded. "It is isn't it," He said as they exited from the view of Davis and T.K. who were standing in the same spot watching all of this. After a second Izzy reappeared from out of the hallway. "Yo, Davis, T.K., you guys sleep in the extra bunks down in the hanger okay? That's an order from Tai," he said before turning around and once again disappearing out of sight.

Davis and T.K. turned and looked at each other. "Fucking asshole," Davis said, all T.K. did was laugh as they walked over to the table and turned on the screen.


	3. Fight for Vengeance

The ship came down and landed on the green opening. The hatch opened up and out came Tai and Sora. The two walked side by side, Tai in his usual all black fully armed get up, Sora on the other hand had a much more casual look. Out from the hatch came the rest of the crew, who stood at the door. Tai turned back to them, "okay me and Sora will talk to this mayor guy and try to negotiate the terms of the contract. Matt, grab one of the bikes and scout out the surrounding area." Tai told them. Matt nodded and headed back into the ship. "T.K. and Davis, you two go into town and check the place out. Joe and Izzy, get the control camp ready for transport, we want to get this job done as quickly as possible,"

They all turned to the direction in which to go to start their jobs. When Matt zoomed straight into the air right out of the hatch next to them on the dirt bike. It landed flat onto the ground and drove straight out of sight. Tai and Sora then turned back and continued to walk down the road they were next to. It took just a couple of minutes until they arrived at the door of a very large brick mansion. 

When the two came to the front door there two militiamen standing on either side of the door. The militiamen wore green army jackets, had an SMG hanging on a strap on one arm, and wore a yellow beret. The two militiamen immediately opened the two doors. Inside were two parallel walls of militiamen who created a sort of path leading into the house. Tai and Sora sort of looked at each other before entering the mansion. They followed the path of militiamen until it ended at the entrance to a back room.

This room had a chair facing a couch with a coffee table in between. It had cathedral ceiling that was about three stories high. Sitting on the chair was a large old bold man. "Come, sit down," he said looking at the couch. Tai and Sora walked over and sat down on the couch. "Welcome to my home."

"Very nice place," Tai said looking around the room. "I got to ask though; does the small army come with the place?" He said jokingly.

The man started to chuckle, he had the sort of coughing chuckle as if he'd been smoking cigars since his first pay check. "No unfortunately the militia comes separately. It was a steal regardless though." He said still chuckling. "Well my name is Alexander Smith but the locals just call me mayor. Let me get more acquainted with you, do you have your credentials?"

Sora reached into the bag she had with her. "Yes we do," She then took out some files and dropped them down onto the coffee table.

The Mayor put a hand on them and brought them closer to him. Each file had a name on it with a picture paperclip to it. The Mayor took one look at the files before pushing them back in the direction of Sora. "You're hired,"

Tai and Sora sort of looked at each other. Then looked back at The Mayor "Just like that?" Sora asked him.

"Just like that," he told her. "You see its one thing to get five mercenaries. But to have one be Tai Dino, then even to have Matt Wolf too. What is there more to discuss when you're in the company of two of the best mercenaries out there right now? Both from the Remonalt Rebels, and being so young at the time too, tragic. If you're a man like me who regularly uses mercenaries you do a background check way before you even agree for a meeting."

The guy just going and saying his past like it was common knowledge made Tai a little uncomfortable. "Now let's talk about my little predicament shall we?" The Mayor asked, to which Sora just nodded. "Good, well a couple of months a group of rogue ex-Rusique black-ops," this made Tai even more uncomfortable, there was nothing that said they were Rusique black-ops. "They started to squat in an abandoned facility not to far from here. They have mostly kept to themselves but have done multiple attacks on my militia for supplies and my citizens have been getting worried. So I decided it they needed to be dealt with. Now I trust my militia but I am not a man for taking chances so hiring someone with experience, especially someone like you Tai who has had lots of experience dealing Rusique black-ops back when you were a Remonalt rebel. It seemed like the best way to lead my men."

Rusique: Fictional Nation.

Tai was getting less and less comfortable being in this guys company. "Now I want you to lead some of my best militia men into the facility and take them out. According to the information that we have gathered there is only 10. But Tai I am sure you know that 10 is a lot when referring to black-ops. Now when would you like to do this?"

"Tomorrow!" Tai said standing up. He then turned and exited the room, followed the path of militia men and exited the building.

Sora watched Tai exit, she then turned and looked at The Mayor and gave a grin. "So shall we discuss the payment?" She asked him. He nodded.

As Tai exited the building the end of the path of people was cut off by two militiamen who blocked the exit. One of them said "My name is Alvin, I am the leader of this militia, and this is Jeremiah, he is my second in command. We look forward to working with you on this mission," He then extended his arm. Tai sort of stood there for a second before shaking the man's hand, and then he shook Jeremiah's. The men nodded and cleared the way for Tai, who continued back to the ship.

It did not take long until it became night. The entire crew was out of the ship on the landing field around a fire. On the fire was some of the canned food stuck to a stick and roasting. Tai looked around at everyone, "Alright so the plan is tomorrow we take out this facility and be gone before nightfall. Matt and I will lead a team of the local militia into the facility purely at request. Izzy and Joe will set up a control center around the area and will also be accompanied by the local militia. Sora will stay with the Mayor incase there is any problems and as collateral for The Mayor that we will not suddenly switch sides. T.K. and Davis you're in the ship and am on constant alert incase we need backup or a pickup if they intend to flee." Tai explained. "Now Matt what did you find on your scouting?"

"Pretty normal area, one of the few untouched by the war. I could not find that facility on my own though. It must be really deep in that forest which is kind of unusual it would have had to have been some real serious research facility to be so far out in the middle of nowhere." Matt said.

Tai then turned and looked at T.K. "The town's clean," T.K. told him. "It doesn't appear that those black-ops guys are working for anyone, nor is there any real serious underground activity. It just seems like your average little town in the middle of the country."

"Okay, everyone get some rest, we got a big day tomorrow," Tai said. Soon everyone was gone back into the ship except for him and Matt. Tai turned to Matt. "If there is a group of ex-black-ops in this region, there has got to be a reason. You don't become some of the words best and most professional killers then go into hiding in a dinky little town in the middle of nowhere."

Matt took a long breath with a cigarette in his mouth. "I agree, there has got to be something else too it. I can't quite put my finger on it though. But we shouldn't go rushing in guns blazing in that place before we know why they're there," Tai nodded. The two continued to stand around the fire.

Rushing through the forest Tai ran right up against a tree and looked behind him. Matt ran right up against the same tree. Behind them half a dozen militiamen followed as closely as possible stopping behind trees right behind theirs. Matt and Tai both turned and looked passed the tree on opposite sides. There about fifty feet away was the facility. It was about four stories high and looked like an office building was just dropped in the middle of the forest. All of the windows were boarded up though.

One of the militiamen behind them was Alvin. He talked for a second on his walkie-talkie. "Jeremiah's recon squad is back at camp. They say that there were two black-ops that appeared to not be present."

Tai reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, he then pressed 1. "Izzy, are you picking up anything on your end? They say there are eight people present in that building," 

In the closest cleaning from the facility Izzy and Joe had set up camp with all their electronics out. There were also four militiamen that were present with them. "Yeah it appears that there are eight people in that building. They are blocking our heat sensors though, Joe is working on that. But they all appear to be on the top level."

"Okay, keep me posted," Tai then closed his phone and looked at the squad he was leading. "Alright listen up, eight is enough we can worry about the other two later. You all follow my lead. I don't want any trigger happy, shoot first actions okay? I want to get to the bottom of this."

Tai then sprinted for the facility, after a second Matt followed suit, then soon everyone ran up against the building. Slowly they moved against it. Once reaching the back entrance Matt burst through the door. It led straight into a staircase. Tai motioned for everyone to move up the staircase. It was now Matt who had taken the lead. His shotgun pointed straight out in front of him. On the fourth floor there was a big door that led out of the staircase. Matt stationed himself at one side of the door as the militiamen pilled in behind him. Tai then stationed himself right next to Matt at the other side of the door. The two looked at each other. They then jumped up and kicked the door right down.

The room was too quiet for Sora's liking. Since there was nothing in it besides the couch, chair, and coffee table she had very little to do besides just sit there opposite to The Mayor. There were about four militiamen in the room as well but nobody was saying a word. She could barely control her boredom. "You don't seem very worried?" The Mayor observed breaking the silence.

"Yes well, this will not be the first time for either Tai or Matt to have fought against black-ops and I am sure it will not be the last. So no I am not worried." Sora told him.

"You should be."

Sora was taken back; what he just said just freaked her out and gave her a bad feeling. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Still holding it behind her and out of sight she pressed 2.

The militiamen pilled into the room followed by Matt and Tai. They were in a long room which stretched quite a ways. At the far side was a man decked out in black facing the back wall. Matt and Tai both put him in their sights and started to run in his direction. "Who are you? Why are you here? Who do you work for?" Tai screamed as he ran straight for the guy.

When Matt and Tai were just a few meters away the guy turned around. Both Matt and Tai stopped in their tracks. "Jeremiah?" Tai asked looking at the guy. All of a sudden the feeling of cold steel could be felt at the back of Tai's head. He turned around to see Alvin holding a gun up against his head. Another militiaman had a gun up against the back of Matt's head too.

"Oh did I forget to mention? There are no black-ops," Alvin said. Now militiamen started to come out of the adjacent rooms with the majority of the militiamen that entered with Matt and Tai staying back at the doorway.

"Why should I worry?" Sora asked trying to sound polite.

The Mayor grew a large grin on his face. He then stood up, "Because my dear, soon your friends will be dead." The four militiamen then came two on each side of The Mayor. "And you will be too." The militiamen grabbed their SMGs and lifted them up pointing at Sora. Sora quickly reached under her shirt and pulled out her 9mm revolver and pointed it right at the head of The Mayor. "Ah so you too have a bit of fight in you."

Alvin cocked the hammer on his revolver. "Any last words?" he asked Tai. Tai just stood there quite.

"I do," Matt said. Alvin looked over in Matt's direction, who was in the same predicament as Tai. "Rule 101 of being a mercenary, is be prepared for everything." Matt then clamped his fingers on the side of his hand. Then a beep could be heard. Multiple militiamen turned to the door, where they saw the detonator. A huge explosion ripped through the doorway and that entire back section, engulfing some militiamen, sending others flying.

The rest including Matt and Tai were sent flying forward from the shockwave. After coming to a stop Tai turned and extended his two pistols and blew two militiamen's brains out. Matt got up right next to another militiaman, Matt slugged the guy with the back of his shotgun. Then quickly turned 180 degrees and shot sending another militiaman back into the flames of where the explosion was.

"Did you hear that?" Izzy asked. "That sounded like a large explosion." Izzy looked at the equipment in front of him. "I don't seem to be able to get any sort of clear readings of what is going on in there."

With the press of a button Joe turned the heat sensor on. "I broke through the jam, we're getting something on this now." Izzy walked over and looked at it with Joe. "There definitely looks like there is some fighting going on. I think I see Matt and Tai but I can't tell the difference between the black-ops and the militiamen."

"That's because there is non." A militiaman from behind them said. Izzy and Joe looked at each other before slowly turning around to see the four militiamen pointing their guns at them. "Now prepare to die!"

Izzy quickly banged on a piece of equipment behind him. Joe and Izzy then both crouched back. The militiamen a little confused put them in their sights. All of a sudden there was a huge white flash. The four militiamen were blinded and now struggled to remain standing. Coming up to them was Izzy and Joe now gripping their rifles. "Ohh, I'm so scared!" Izzy called out in a jokily sarcastic tone. The two then opened fire on their incapacitated foes.

Matt pumped his shotgun as he rolled on the floor. Once coming to a stop right next to Tai he fired killing a militiaman instantly. Tai was in the process of pistol whipping one then shooting him in the gut with his other pistol. They both looked at each other than at their surroundings. Quickly they reloaded as they saw Alvin and Jeremiah at the far end of the room up against one of the boarded up windows. Those two were quite shaken from the explosion and not holding a weapon. Tai and Matt both nodded at each other before sprinting straight towards the other two.

On their way they fired on anything that moved around them. Anybody showing the slightest bit of life got an extra bit of lead. Be it they were on the side of Matt and Tai or behind them. Finally the two raised their guns up in front of them and fired on Alvin and Jeremiah. Both got a few shots on them sending them back against the boards. Still sprinting towards them with about two meters to go they jumped up into the air. Then both sent a large jump kick Tai on Alvin and Matt on Jeremiah. It was strong enough that it sent Alvin and Jeremiah straight through the boards out the window and down the four stories.

"Well that was fun," Matt said as the two guys headed for the engulfed in flames staircase. On the way they stopped at bodies to pick off anything useful off the corpses. When they were about half way to the exit Matt stopped. He heard what sounded like a clicking sound. "Does that sound like a bomb to you?"

Tai stopped for a second and listened. "Yes, yes it does," Tai agreed. They both looked at each other before turning and running as fast as they could for the exit.

Packing up all the stuff from their little camp. Joe and Izzy suddenly heard a second explosion. This one being much large than the one before. Joe turned and looked at Izzy, "Now this may just be me, but that explosion sounded big enough to have blown up the entire facility." All Izzy could do was nod.

"Wh..why are you doing this?" Sora asked as she back up against the wall behind her. She still had all four guys pointing guns at her with The Mayor still had that big grin on his face and was standing right in front of her.

He gave off the same chuckle that he did the day before. "Does it really matter, soon all five of you will be dead." He informed.

She looked very nervous, her hands starting to tremble she called out "You're wrong!" then she stopped trembling and gave off her own grin at him. He was almost taken back by the sudden change in expression in her face. She obviously seemed pleased by this. "You're wrong, there's seven of us." She said as she turned and looked at the back wall which had large windows.

The Mayor then turned and looked in the same direction. There was Calypso flying straight at the mansion. The Mayor had little more time than to duck as Calypso smashed right into the house through the back wall into the room. "Yeehaa!" Davis yelled holding on the controls. Everyone on the ground was sent to the floor covering themselves from falling debris. A hatch opened up from the ship and out came T.K. with a sniper rifle. He looked into the scope and fired sending one militiaman who was getting up straight to the ground. T.K. opened then closed the breech cocking the sniper and fired again. He repeated this process three times getting direct hits on all militiamen.

The Mayor was on the ground lying on his back. Looking forward he saw Sora approach him. "It doesn't matter!" he called out to her. "Your friends are already dead!"

Then from either side of Sora walked up Matt and Tai. They both extended one arm holding their weapon and pointed it straight in the face of The Mayor. "Not even close," Tai informed him. The two guys pulled their triggers.


End file.
